Sliding glass door retainer means

ABSTRACT

One or more adjustable retainers are mounted on top of a sliding glass door at the corners, or suitably spaced, to fill in the space between the sliding glass door and the inside of the upper track so that the sliding glass door cannot be lifted vertically from the outside by unauthorized persons. The fastener comprises two adjustable wedge members which are secured to the door or the track.

United States Patent [191 Koslow et al.

[541 SLIDING GLASS DOOR RETAINER MEANS [76] Inventors: Sidney Koslow, 6845 N.W. 9th St.,

Margate, Fla. Malone, 1 Odell Court, Syosset, NY. 1 1791 22 Filed: June 11, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 152,169

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 848,032, Aug. 6,

1969, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. ..49/404, 49/409, 49/449, 49/453, 52/122 [51 Int. Cl. ..E05d 13/00 58 FieldofSearch ..49/404,409,410,41 49/425, 449-453; 52/122 33063; James P. v

14 1 Feb. 6, 1973 '[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1960 Hiers ..49/449 X 10/1968 Von Wedel ..52/122 X Primary Examiner-J. Karl Bell Attorney-James P. Malone [57] ABSTRACT One or more adjustable retainers are mounted on top of a sliding glass door at the corners, or suitably spaced, to fill in the space between the sliding glass door and the inside of the upper track so that the sliding glass door cannot be lifted vertically from the outside by unauthorized persons. The fastener comprises two adjustable wedg e members which are secured to the door or the track.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEUFEB" 6 1973 3,714,738

INVENTOR.

SIDNEY KOSLOW JAMES P. MALONE SLIDING GLASS DOOR RETAINER MEANS This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 848,032, filed Aug. 6, 1969, of the same title now abandoned.

This invention relates to means for securing sliding glass doors against vertical movement after they have been installed.

Sliding glass doors are generally installed by lifting them up into an upper track and then dropping them on to a lower track.

This requires a considerable amount of clearance in the upper track and if retaining means are not installed, these doors can generally be lifted out of the tracks by burglars or other unauthorized persons. Also, lifting the doors up and down within the tracks is sufficient to open conventional catch locks on these doors.

The present invention solves these problems by providing an adjustable retainer which is mounted inside the upper track of the sliding glass doors.

More particularly, in one embodiment, the invention comprises a pair of adjustable wedges suitably spaced which may be set so as to fill in the clearance in the upper track. After adjustment, the wedges are locked together and attached inside the track. The door is moved to the other side while the wedges are being installed.

Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to provide a new and improved means for securing sliding glass'doors against vertical movement after they have been installed.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved means for securing sliding glass doors against vertical movement after they have been installed, comprising a pair of adjustable shim members which are adapted to be inserted inside the upper track.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved means to prevent sliding doors from being lifted vertically and removed from their tracks by burglars.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partially in section, of the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a detail view of the wedges, partly in section.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the wedges mounted in the track.

vReferring to the figures, there are shown an outside sliding glass door 1 and an inside sliding glass door 2. These doors are mounted in upper tracks 3 and ride on lower tracks.

In installing the doors, the tracks are first fixedly mounted to the door opening of the building and the sliding glass doors are then lifted into place by lifting them high inside the upper-track 3 and then dropping them on to the lower track. This requires a great deal of clearance in the upper track 3 and as a result of this clearance, it is quite easy to remove the doors by reversing the installation procedure, namely by lifting the door vertically until it is free of the lower track, and then lifting it out, or lifting the door up and down within the tracks to release the door catch.

In order to avoid this procedure by burglars, it IS necessary to fill in the clearance in the upper track to limit vertical movement. The present invention does this by means of two adjustable wedges 4 and 5. The overall height of the wedges can be adjusted by positioning them relative each other. This may be done by means of a stepped slot 4" in the wedge 4, which is adapted to receive a bolt head 6, the bolt 6 being threaded into the upper wedge 5. One set of wedges is sufficient for each door, but two sets, suitably spaced, are preferable on each door.

The lower wedge is mounted on the inside of the door surface by means of the mounting bracket 7. The upper part of the bracket 7 is connected to the lower wedge 4 and the lower part of the bracket 7 is connected to the inside surface of the door by means of two sheet metal screws 8 and 9. Therefore, in order to install the device, it is necessary only to drill two holes in the door frame in order to insert the sheet metal screws 8 and 9. The door frames are generally of aluminum so that it is relatively easy to drill these holes. The bracket 7 may be thin, for instance 1/16 inch, so as not to interfere with the sliding of the doors. A corresponding set of wedges 4 and 5' are mounted on the door 1 by bracket 7'.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the invention, wherein the wedges, 4a and 5a are mounted onto the underside of the upper track T. The wedge 4a has a center slot as in FIGS. 3 and 4. The screw 6a extends through the upper wedge 5a and is secured to the track T. This screw may be a sheet metal screw adapted to engage a drilled hole in the track T.

It is quite simple to set the wedges in the track. You first determine the clearance of the doors with relation to the track. Then mark off the space in the track where the wedges are to be positioned. Then move the door over to the other side and install the wedges. Then do the same with the other door.

The present device is not limited to sliding glass doors, but may be used in other type sliding doors or windows which use a similar track arrangement.

We claim:

1. Means for securing sliding glass doors, of the type which are slidably mounted in upper tracks, against vertical movement in said tracks comprising:

first and second wedged shaped members adapted to be mounted in the space between the upper track and the top of a door,

means to adjustably lock said first and second members together before mounting and means to mount them to fit the space between the top of the door and the top of the track, to thereby prevent vertical movement of the door in said track.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein first and second members are wedge shaped, and one member has a stepped slot.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said members are connected to the upper track.

' s m t t 

1. Means for securing sliding glass doors, of the type which are slidably mounted in upper tracks, against vertical movement in said tracks comprising: first and second wedged shaped members adapted to be mounted in the space between the upper track and the top of a door, means to adjustably lock said first and second members together before mounting and means to mount them to fit the space between the top of the door and the top of the track, to thereby prevent vertical movement of the door in said track.
 1. Means for securing sliding glass doors, of the type which are slidably mounted in upper tracks, against vertical movement in said tracks comprising: first and second wedged shaped members adapted to be mounted in the space between the upper track and the top of a door, means to adjustably lock said first and second members together before mounting and means to mount them to fit the space between the top of the door and the top of the track, to thereby prevent vertical movement of the door in said track.
 2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein first and second members are wedge shaped, and one member has a stepped slot. 